


Assistance Required

by Mister_Spock



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Depression, Gen, Hurt!Spock, Spock - Freeform, body failing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-31
Updated: 2017-01-31
Packaged: 2018-09-21 05:29:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9533786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mister_Spock/pseuds/Mister_Spock
Summary: Spock has suffered through more than his fair share of hardship since joining Starfleet. A routine medical by McCoy uncovers a host of issues that Spock has managed to keep to himself but that are clearly an indication of the troubles he is going through.Will McCoy be able to help Spock and get him the help he needs?With a lack of a support system, can Spock overcome it, or will his issues mount until he crumbles?Complete.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Post Beyond where Spock and Uhura haven't reconciled afterwards (not to say that they won't, it just works better for this story that they aren't together) but Spock has stayed on the Enterprise as he feels he does belong there.

“Unless there's any other business, dismissed,” James Kirk said at the head of the meeting table. 

The heads of department stood and started to filter out. McCoy reached across and his fingers gently brushed against Spock's arm, who turned. “You got a minute?” McCoy asks. Spock nods and waits as the others leave.  
Jim waits until the others have gone and the three of them are alone. “Everything okay?” he asks. 

“I just need a private word with Spock,” McCoy explains and Jim nods, taking his leave. 

Once the doors are closed, Spock turns to the his colleague and waits for what he has to say. 

“This is about your last medical actually, Spock, so if you'd feel more comfortable in sickbay, we can go to my office.”

“Proceed.” Spock says. 

This is where things became more complicated. McCoy had been dreading this all day. “The results of the medical we did yesterday are not good, Spock. You know as well as I do that some of the things affecting you are not to be ignored.”

“They are not affecting my performance,” Spock stated. McCoy noted the detached tone. He expected as much. Spock was defensive. 

“If you want me to stand here and list one by one the ailments that are affecting you, I can do. I can also tie them into the mental and emotional stress you've been under for years and if you really really want, I can call Jim in on all of this.” Spock physically stiffened his posture. “Hey, I'm not going to do any of that,” McCoy said, gently reaching across and putting his hand on Spock's shoulder. “Sit down and we'll talk about our options.” His tone was softer than usual. He was worried enough about Spock that he knew he needed to get him to allow himself the help he needed.  
McCoy took a seat, hoping Spock would follow his lead and although reluctant, eventually he seated himself as well. Spock kept his gaze away from McCoy though, and the doctor knew how much Spock hated being in this situation with him. He had to make it bearable for Spock, somehow. 

“Let's start with the headaches-”

“I am not-”

“Spock, I am trying to help you, but if you deny everything, I can't.”

“I do not want your help, Doctor. I did not ask for it.”

McCoy placed his elbow on the table and covered his eyes with his hand. “You do understand my position on the ship, right? Chief Medical Officer. It's my duty to make sure the crew is fit for their duty. You might be coping right now, Spock but with how the medical scanners projected your health between the last two physicals you won't get to the next one in one piece. I know your privacy is important to you. I'm sorry. I'm.... I'm just sorry.”

Spock didn't say anything, just kept his gaze fixed away from McCoy and he decided not to push the matter further. It paid off when Spock relented. “May we continue this discussion in my quarters? I find the temperature there much more agreeable.”

~

McCoy asked Spock to lay on his bed so he could complete a scan. He busied himself with his bags for a few moments first, before he entered the sleeping quarters himself.  
As he had expected, Spock had fallen asleep. 

The same thing had happened during Spock's medical exam and it had been as surprising for McCoy as it was for Nurse Baker, who was assisting him with a few of the more routine aspects. He had dismissed her soon after, and continued with the examination alone. 

He ran the scanner over Spock's sleeping form and then ran for an analysis between his figures the day before and today, to get a clear idea of Spock's conditions and how quickly he was being affected by them. Anything that had changed noticeably in one day was cause for concern.  
And while Spock had no issues while on duty, his habit of falling into sleep when he was laying down was also worrying. Spock shouldn't even need sleep on a regular basis, if he meditated often. 

So while Spock slept, McCoy ran a series of tests. The conclusion wasn't good. Spock was in a bad way and set to deteriorate unless he let McCoy help him. The biggest hurdle was going to be the cause of the problems.  
From the data he had, McCoy pinpointed the start of it after the Narada and Nero.  
The catastrophic loss of life on Vulcan and Spock's Mother had altered Spock's brain patterns and they had never recovered from that. While nothing like that had happened since then, Spock had encountered several distressing experiences and when McCoy started to look at when they had taken place and Spock's next scan, there was a decline in some areas. Perhaps a small one, something easily over looked from one scan to the next, but looking from the first to the latest, the difference was alarming. 

The headaches were one of the first things Spock had mentioned to McCoy when he'd started to suspect more was wrong with Spock than a few minor ailments. Using more advanced technology, McCoy was able to discover that Spock's headaches were consistent in every medical he had been too. He checked back to the last medical Spock had at the academy and there was no sign of a headache present at all. 

The headaches lead to a lack of ability to concentrate fully, stopping Spock from meditating as deeply as he needed too. On a long term cycle, this exacerbated the problem, let it snowball until other problems started to materialise. 

There were patches of green, sore skin on Spock's wrist, neck and waist, area where Spock's uniform was a little tighter and the skin had become easily irritated. It wouldn't be long before the skin on the wrist had got so bad that Spock would have to cover it with a bandage and that was what he was trying to avoid- drawing attention to it

Spock's eating habits were dire. He had lost a little weight, not enough to be concerned about, but records showed that in the last three months was the time period when the slight weight loss had happened, which just added to McCoy's concerns that whatever was happening with Spock's mind and body was starting to culminate and would soon become a lot harder to correct. 

Although Spock indicated that none of this was affecting his performance, McCoy had checked and Spock's efficiency rating was down 2%. Not a lot by any others standards, but Spock had never dropped a full percent before. Even after the Narada, his ratings had improved- probably due to a determination to prove himself and stay busy.  
Maybe the tipping point for Spock was Krall and during that incident, finding out about the loss of Ambassador Spock. It was an odd situation, McCoy couldn't deny that- finding out an alternate version of yourself had died. He had no idea how he would feel about learning such a thing, but the truth was plain as day- Spock had been devastated by the loss to such a degree that he was considering leaving Starfleet. Well, he was already considering that anyway, but it just made him more set on the idea. The fact he and Nyota didn't manage to sort out their personal issues didn't help. Losing her support had seemed to be a big dip in Spock's well being. 

All in all, Spock's outlook, if things stayed the same were bleak. McCoy would have to tell Jim something, he would have to pull Spock off duty for a recovery period and he doubted that Spock would deal well with the shame of it. 

Having someone's future resting in your hands, sucked a hell of a lot sometimes. 

~

McCoy let himself into Spock's quarters and activated the lock on the door. 

Jim was just inside, frozen still uncertain of what to do as Spock was sat at his desk, body shuddering in some strange and uncontrolled loss of control.  
He needed to tell Jim he'd issued a ship wide broadcast in his haste to get McCoy here as soon as he could. He'd have questions to fend off- ones that needed to be handled carefully. But that would come later. He needed to check on Spock first. 

McCoy pulled out a hypo and applied it to Spock's neck, the hiss filling the quiet of the room. It didn't stop Spock's shudders as he started to lost consciousness but once he fell completely into rest, the spasms stopped.  
“Help me get him onto his bed,” McCoy said. Once he was laid down, McCoy got a scanner out. “So what happened?” 

“I wanted to ask him something, but he ignored the message I sent him, so I thought I might as well pop in and see him. I found him like that. What's that on his hand?” Jim asked. 

McCoy looked down at Spock's hand briefly. The irritated skin from his wrist has spread, as McCoy had assumed it would. Before he could say anything, Jim was pulling the sleeve up and could see the irritated skin circling Spock's wrist, dried skin and specks of blood where the skin had been rubbed away completely. 

“What the hell is this, Bones? It looks like his been tied up or something?” Jim said, alarmed. 

“It's nothing to worry about, Jim. I'm aware of it. It's just a slight skin irritation I'm trying to work through with him.” McCoy forced calmness into his voice. 

“Why didn't I know about it?” Jim sounded defensive. A little hurt, even. 

“Why would you? It's nothing to do with you. I wouldn't tell you if a human crew member had a case of eczema suddenly flare up. For all I know, this is the Vulcan version of it.”

“But you don't know?”

“Not for certain. I'm working on it. Vulcan's are a little private. Even about skin conditions.”

“Well what was wrong with him when I came in then? Why was he shaking like that?”

McCoy sighed. “That I don't know. I'll let him get some rest. Talk to him about it when he's had some sleep, okay?”

~

“Spock? Spock, are you with me? Dammit!” When McCoy and the medics had burst onto the bridge after being hailed by the Captain for an emergency situation, McCoy already knew it would be Spock.  
Spock was slumped in his chair at the science station, Jim had one hand on his shoulder, Uhura had been knelt down beside him and everyone else was deadly silent, faces grim and the air thick with tension.  
He had Spock moved onto a gurney and they moved him to sickbay. There was nothing McCoy could do for him on the bridge. 

“He looked like he was coming round,” Uhura said, trying to keep up with McCoy and the medics assisting him as they left the bridge. 

“Stay on the bridge. I'll call when I have news. That goes for you too, Jim.”

~

Spock came to slowly.

He could smell sick bay. “Doctor?” he said, though his voice came out weak and the word barely a whisper.  
Something brushed against his lips and he realised it was a straw. He took a couple of careful sips. 

“Better?” McCoy asked. “Just so you know, you somehow managed to be dehydrated which is impressive for not only a dessert species like yourself, but also someone with access to water with no reason not to hydrate themselves properly. Are you trying to get kicked out of Starfleet for being unfit for duty? Because it's going to happen. I can't try and pass this off any longer as nothing to worry about.”

Spock shifted onto his right side, wincing in pain. 

“Oh and that pain is from when you cracked your lover back when you fell. I could give you something for the pain but-” he sighed. “What are we even doing here, Spock? We've got headaches, blackouts, swollen joints, skin irritations, digestive issues-”

“Doctor,” Spock said, interrupting McCoy's rant. “Please allow me to return to my quarters. I can not tolerate the temperature here.” 

Another thing he could have listed, Spock inability to control his bodies core temperature. McCoy was so angry, so frustrated he wanted to shake Spock. But he could see that the Vulcan was defeated right now. He was vulnerable and weak and all he wanted from his Doctor right now, was to be left alone and to be warm.  
McCoy turned and walked away without another word. 

Spock swallowed down his frustration and upset. He was too exposed here. He would not allow himself to show his human fragility when he could be seen.  
He felt almost fully composed when McCoy returned and helped Spock into one of the wheelchairs and, once seated, he pushed the chair into a side room.  
The warmth from the room hit Spock straight away, set to Vulcan standard. McCoy helped Spock out of the chair and settled into bed before he gave him a strong sedative, sending Spock into oblivion.  
Again. 

~

“Give me something, Bones.” Kirk asked. 

His posture was defeated. He was worried sick about Spock, that much was clear. Jim had witnessed Spock's failing health twice now. 

For his part, McCoy felt inside what Jim's body language was showing. But he needed to be together for Jim, and for Spock.  
“I'm still in the process of working out what's going on with him, but I have a good idea at this point. You know that Vulcans have shared bonds, right?” Jim nods and he continues. “They have close bonds to family and although it's not a bond, they have a knowledge of one another in mass. So, when Vulcan was destroyed and millions of lives were lost, all Vulcans felt that loss.”

“Felt it how?”

“I don't know exactly. In their mind, I guess. Now, even though his Mother was human, Spock would still have a mental bond with her and when she died, being it was so sudden, that bond it died with her. If a Vulcan were dying or old, they can lessen the bond, make it easier, but this would have just happened. I can't begin to imagine what it would be like, we have no way to process it because we aren't capable of feeling a bond like a Vulcan can. Suffice to say, Spock's Mother's death did more damage than we would ever be able to comprehend.”

“This can't be a result of that. It was years ago.”

“It was. And it's not just that. Anytime Spock's encountered a highly emotional stress situation- like you dying or Ambassador Spock dying, this whole mess was building up. Now he's either been ignoring it until he couldn't any longer, or he never fully acknowledged the extent of the damage.”

“Which is it, do you think?” Jim asks. His face is a mask and Bones can't tell if he's angry or worried now. 

“Honestly? I think he didn't know anything until recently and now he's at a point where he can't help himself.”

“Okay, well, he can't come back on duty like this.”

“I plan to give him two weeks off duty and then return him to light duties- science labs only. And he's not to do anything but monitor the others. He could probably help with some of your paperwork by that time.” McCoy said. Jim shook his head. 

“Is he going to get over this?”

“Let's hope so,”

~

Sulu had given him a cream that was made from a plant that was native to Vulcan and was known for it's healing abilities. He'd been sceptical, but as he applied it to a small patch of skin on Spock's wrist. He was concerned about there being other irritations.  
It didn't seem to do much good.

He hadn't told Spock the cream was anything special, figured he was likely to make him more homesick than anything else, but then Sulu can to visit and asked Spock about the Dega plant. They had some growing in the botany labs, that Sulu had been nurturing and he hoped to have one that Spock could move to his quarters soon. Sulu told him about the cream he'd made and Spock discussed how his Mother had used it on him as a child.  
Once Sulu left, Spock seemed to be in better spirits. 

When he checked on the patch of skin after treatment over the following couple of days, he found an improvement that didn't seem to be down to the cream alone.  
Spock seemed to be feeling less of the other symptoms as well. The headaches were less painful and his appetite had even improved.  
They were taking steps in the right direction.


End file.
